A Letter from the Butterfly

And She Said:

"The mighty pen stands alone

its glory days are over

The brush with paper, the touch of ink no more

it stays inside its cover

The human speaks of numbers and words

that the pen knew not of before

There is a buzz of gadget, the glare of its screen

no bits of paper that rolled and tore

The fingers that held this pen with love

now do a tapping dance

There's a buoyancy in his fingers

but of its presence in the heart, there is a milder chance

The human may one day stop ignoring his pen

or it may become a bit too late

Till then, work, as men would like it said

keeps the pen in a lonesome wait"

But darling butterfly, dont you know?

 

"There was a dream once, 

worthy enough to be chased
And pen in hand, 

after it I'd raced
 

There was a dream once, 

that filled me with glee
And with words strung together, 

my spirit would roam free
 

There was a dream once 

and she gave  my life meaning
But she walked away once, 

whilst I was still dreaming
 

There was a dream once 

but when it lay shattered I asked what went wrong
And she told me, 

life is more than just words, rhymes and a song
 

There was a dream once 

but reality came calling
Said I was stumbling too much, 

said I was free falling
 

I walk with open eyes now, 

mindful of worldly viles and worldly gains
There was a dream once 

but of it now, only a memory remains..."

These days gone by, have been but a blur
The white collared life, has changed all that were
Not a minute to breathe, not a minute to pause
Not a minute to ponder on any other cause
But just on occasion, there are gentle reminders
Of a life somewhere, beyond these walls and binders
When on a cloudy day the wind gently rustles the leaves
And a gorgeous blue butterfly dances merrily on the breeze
She takes me away from the madness, if only for a while
But its long enough to cheer me for the day and leave me beaming with a smile...

I Ain't Lettin Go...

I'm drunk with love and you're to blame
And I wish you'd blame me too
I pass you the drink and look askance
Till our eyes meet and I shy and shrug away from you

Sprawled on the couch, I see you lie
But I'm not quite sure if we're tipsy yet
I take another gulp from the drink again
And slouch further with every breath

You've stayed here so long and I feel glad
Yet it seems it's not been long enough
I look at you fondly, for the umpteenth time
Maybe you really could change my mind about love


I know quite well, that I'm tying you down
That my overbeaing shade denies you joys of rain and shine
But as the drink dwindles down to its last drops, I know I wont let you go
For if I did, maybe you'll come back but I fear, for love, I won't change my mind...


(And this one's inspired too...maybe you'll get to read the one that inspired this someday too!)

Fallen Leaves from the Butterfly's Gardens...

Sitting in a crowded bus, a butterfly drowned me in fallen leaves

And the leaves stayed with me right there, when of them I begged please

Then they piled on upon me and with them blew me far away

To my home of many years, where not so long ago I did stay

In every leaf I saw, my hopes and dreams as they were

In a time that seems long past, so long, even the memory is a blur

But the leaves said they'd been trod upon, that their crunched form held the past

That no matter where I go now, in them, those memories will forever last

So one day when I come back, after times well spent elsewhere

To the place where my heart so fondly rests, that they'd still be right there

To help me find my way back, to welcome me home again

In the gardens of the butterfly, where I may still tread on them once again...

(Maybe someday you will read the original that inspired this one...one of the best poems I've read, period. Ah well, until then, you can read this one...)

Pepeo

The world seemed a little too grey
As it happens sometimes, when things dont go your way
In search of answers, I wandered alone
Amongst sands and streams and sticks and stones
Then in the distance, I spotted something new
With shuffling steps, closer I drew
I stood mesmerised when I finally caught a clear glance
As she fluttered around in her sprightly dance
Everything she touched seemed to burst in so many colours
So I took a few more steps hoping to borrow some of hers
She seemed to notice and flittered nearer
Brightened my world as we grew dearer
She took me away, on her flights of fancy
Her beautiful wings, that lend colour to all the dullness I see
Mischief and charm that fill forlorn hearts with glee
How I cherish these times, these times of the butterfly and me...

Been long since the butterfly had fluttered my way

In a little cocoon she seemed to lay hidden away

But at long last I spotted her today

By a small garden, in the middle of day

Still as graceful as I remembered the butterfly to be

Still a picture of unfettered beauty

I sat near and smiled with unabashed glee

That stemmed from the benefit of such jocund company

A bitter sweet nectar we feasted upon

As the mist of conversation was switched on

Reminiscing flights in times bygone

Dreaming of those we’ll make in tomorrow’s beautiful dawn

And the moments piled as hours passed by

Life’s turbulence that the afternoon did belie

Yet soon enough reality and evening drew nigh

As I stood and watched her flit away again, that flittering, fluttering butterfly…

Sleepless

No weariness in these eyes yet
Though the clock says its almost dawn
A formidable foe I seem to have met
For these lips let pass not even a stray yawn

Have spent hours sleepless in bed
Thoughts running within in scores
Wish I could show you what runs in my head
Maybe you could help me soothe some sores
 
I've tried to blank my mind to sleep
But tonight theres too much noise inside
Too many doubts rooted far too deep
From them theres no place left to hide
 
No one to sing me a lullaby
Nor to cozily cuddle to
Tossing and turning all night I lie
And my misery I share with you...

Help?

Life sometimes doesn't make any sense
Mysteries of the divine ways beyond mortal cognizance
Broken hearts and broken dreams that hurt more than broken toes
Trying to climb out but digging deeper into those lows
Pensive and pennant, searching for answers all alone
But the quagmire deepens for the answers have shrunk and the questions grown
Groping and flailing and snatching at straws
Prisoner to those inherent inextinguishable human flaws
And in their wake, staring sleeplessly in the dark at an invisible ceiling
Surrounded by gloom and that sickening hopeless feeling
Not yet stranded though for there is still some help about
But then again, would it be worth reaching for the hands that now seem to reach out?

Standing on the precipice of the unknown
Discomforted by what has come
Anxious for what will soon be gone

Dreams formed firm of what it should be
Apprehensively in love with what I did see
Nervous as hell, for I want to set them free

I find myself tied down by what is reality
Cautious with impulses of practicality
Confused by the fears and rigours of mortality

Though everything suggests I ought to otherwise

I'm gonna chase what in my heart now lies
Draw strength from the knots in my stomach and the butterflies

(The end, punnily enough, was thanks to the butterfly!)

Conversation with the Butterfly

The 'Butterfly' wondered and said to me :

"Now and then, I see life, it’s a distant second

The first is always the dream

Caught squarely between the hazy view of morning twilight

And the rues of awakened and gloomy realities

It runs along and finds itself in the alacrity endowed to the mists of lands so pure

Life in motion but it seems inept to meet that which shimmers up ahead

The faith that lingers behind but still it swaggers in its drunken charm

You wait and gather faith or flounce and give in to the magical pull

Why do they break at times and make us wonder thus

Why do they wander so apart, unendurable first yet settling deep

For in togetherness each thrives, as one you become

But do they really stand apart at times?

Or does life itself break its ranks to sit idle and drool, to sit idle and despair?

Do you think of life as the dew that binds the cold and warm

Or as being empty to a dream, void of faith and hope?

The opulence of that peep into the future and the sustenance of hope

Doth always rekindle in you, as it doth in me

Life in its innate, ground in freedom and the courage

So true to nature, so far from conscious thought

And yet I sit in retrospect to think of one time

If I ever felt them apart, if ever did faith fall behind

The question impresses upon the foolish who think while others do

That in the prism of our being, you can’t deny a differential focus

Nor can you hover in a thick vacuum

I’m no stranger to each of the three parts as are many that surround me

And then again, it’s not each apart as I put it right?

It’s just one simple life; there are some wanting to take the reins

Some waiting, not fully knowing when the game really began."




And t'was that which I had long pondered so I replied :


"I dunno if life comes second or first
But I'm vaguely aware of my own thirst
To seek solace in memories when things go wrong
And seek hope in my dreams when I cant be strong
It's one step forward and one step back
In the mortal dance to an unheard track
My dreams and my hopes, leave reality muddled
And I live a reality that leaves me befuddled
I seek no clarity now for there is none to be found
It's all just an illusion of life, to which we all are bound...."

Pepeo - The Butterfly

Dull environs
And a chill in the air
Perfect ingredients
To push my mind away from here
Slowly I slip
To a world of my own
Amongst those flowers and streams
A presence that only recently I've known
She flitters and flutters

Gleaming in the soft sunlight
I sit down on the grass
Admiring the grace of her flight
She moves randomly
From one flower to the next
Pausing just occasionally
To let her wings rest
She stretches out lazily
To show off her colours, shining and gleamy
Then takes flight again
Assured that she's left me dreamy
I get up from my spot
Ready to follow her around
But in the blink of an eye
She's gone again, without a hint or a sound
I look around but reality tugs at me
And I blink back with a sigh
I'm left longing once again
For whence I'd see, that flittering, fluttering butterfly...

For Pepeo!

I'm walking down a path
That though I've chosen
Is nothing more than mundane
For everything along lies frozen,
No flowers to line the way
Nor leaves making merry on the trees
I've stopped wishing on the winds
For there's a chill even on the breeze,
But life's funny sometimes
And finds ways to leave you surprised
In the chill of all the frost
In my path, suddenly flitters that butterfly!
On wings bellowed on hopes
She leaves me staring in her wake
With the warmth of her dreamy flight
She brings alive, the long-frozen lake,
As she floats over the ripples
I follow her and wet my toes
Mesmerized by her beauty and grace
I stand afar and watch her real close...
Then as suddenly as she'd come
She's gone and I sigh,
And once again, I am left longing
For whence I'd see, that flittering-fluttering butterfly!

The Butterfly!

'Suddenly, in my idyllic glance,
Upon a lovely creature, I happen to chance,
I stand afar and watch her real close,
A happy butterfly, flittering by a rose,
A soft summer breeze, blows in her wings,
In lazy melancholy, they flutter as if to sing,
Then she breaks her flight, with mischievous intent,
Leaves me surprised, as I see her transcend,
At once in her eyes, a naughty hint,
At once replaced, by an angelic glint,
A little bit of beauty, a little bit of grace,
I'm infected by the sunny smile, that her lips do trace,
Troubled does she seem, by neither disdain nor care,
Floating carefree on the breeze, like her wisps of hair,
Then as suddenly as she'd come, she's gone and I sigh,
Longing for whence I'd see again, that flittering-fluttering butterfly!'

In this poem - Priyanka Mishra.